Three paths toward abundance that work

Next week, here in the USA, we indulge in our annual feast of Thanksgiving.  We celebrate the harvest of our summer’s work and the many paths toward abundance available to us in our land.

Many of us, though, don’t feel very abundant right now.  We’re in our second year of a viral pandemic, weary of isolation and concerned over our collective future.  We feel the longing of celebrating with our loved ones but perhaps still have concerns about travel.

It just feels like lack!  As we know, what we think about, we bring about. 

I say, enough with thinking about what’s missing!  Instead, here are three habits I’ve discovered that open paths toward abundance.

Regular time spent in a Gratitude Journal

In 2009, when I was recovering from a violent end to my second marriage, I began my gratitude journal in earnest.  Rather than focus on all the things I blame others for, or looking for ways to confirm my victimhood, I decided to focus on what I have now. 

So much was gone, but so much remained.

My habit, established then, means every night before I turn in, I list a handful of things that blessed me that day.  It only takes a few minutes to review the day’s happenings.

I include big things, like my cozy little cabin in the woods and a reliable, efficient car.  I also include small things, like watching Mr. Cardinal in his brilliant red coat binge on black oil sunflower. Or Miss Magnolia Kittycat peeking out from inside the dryer, helping with the laundry.

Making that list elevates my mood.  I can feel my heart swell and the smile it brings to my face. 

A Daily “More Than Enough” List

What we feel in one area, we feel in other areas.  When we feel abundant for any one thing, that feeling, like a drop of food coloring in a glass of water, permeates everything in our lives.

A friend once told me about her More Than Enough List, similar to a gratitude list, but focused on abundance.  In her list, she reviews where abundance is already present. 

I look in my kitchen cabinet and find abundance in the number of mugs I own - 3 shelves worth!  I come from a long line of coffee drinkers and a crowd will never go without their own mug for a hot beverage in my home.  And, for the same reason, there is always an abundance of coffee and filters.

My closet has an abundance of shoes.  My bathroom has an abundance of dental floss. The gas tank in my car rarely falls below 1/2 tank before I top it off.  At this moment, my little cabin in the woods has an abundance of oak leaves dancing in the breeze.  So beautiful.

I have more than enough, and if you’re an American, I bet you do too.  Acknowledge and celebrate!

Affirm Your Desires

Creating affirmations pulls our desires into the here and now.  Affirmations are short statements of our desire written in the present tense, as though it has already happened. 

Honestly, affirmations have always felt a little fake to me.  How can I believe something that hasn’t happened yet?  Looking at my desires created only lack and emptiness, so I stopped doing them. 

Then I realized that the fullness in my heart extends not only to what I feel grateful for now, and what abundance I can already see, but also the blessings headed my way. 

I now imagine the future I want and clarify the evidence I will notice when it’s finally here, then create affirmations naming that evidence.  I want abundance? What number in my bank account will prove it to me?  That’s an affirmation.

When I read those statements and feel gratitude for my guaranteed future, I’m pulling it toward me. 

A Gratitude Journal for the past, a More Than Enough List for the present, and Affirmations defining the future.  Travel these paths toward abundance and see how quickly you manifest your Dream. 

They work!